The rufous treepie (Dendrocitta
vagabunda) is a treepie belongs to crow famil Corvidae, native to the Indian
Subcontinent and adjoining parts of Southeast Asia. Rufous Treepie has long
tailed, with loud musical calls making it very conspicuous. The size of Rufous
treepie is between somewhere 45 to 55 cm including the tail. The Weight of
adult bird is between 80 g. to 140 g. The bird normally found in open scrub,
agricultural areas, forests as well as urban gardens. However, it is very
adaptable, omnivorous and opportunistic in feeding. Male and female are very
similar but only main color of the body is cinnamon with a black head and the
long graduated tail is bluish grey and is tipped in black with the wing has a
white patch. The only confusable species is the grey treepie which though lacks
the bright rufous mantle. The bill is stout with a hooked tip, and underparts
and lower back are a warm tawny-brown to orange-brown in color with white wing
coverts and black primaries.
Moreover, the bill legs and feet
are black. This is very noisy bird with great agility can be seen in urban
parks and large gardens. This species is visible mainly in lowlands, and
usually below 1000 metres, but according to the range, it can be found up to
2100 metres of elevation. A local name for this bird kotri is derived from the
typical call while other names include Handi Chancha and taka chor "coin
thief". This species has a wide repertoire of calls, but a bob-o-link or ko-tree
call is most common. Alike to Eurasian magpie in the United Kingdom, it appears
that being highly intelligent and an opportunistic feeder has been a recipe for
success in the treepie’s ability to live alongside humans. The Rufous Treepie
has distinctive dipping flight during which each dip ends in upwards jerk. The
flight is undulating a swift noisy flapping, followed by a short glide on
outspread wings and tail.
The Tree-Pies are arboreal omnivorous,
and they feed on Insects, caterpillars, lizards, frogs, centipedes, young
birds, small birds, rodents, bats, snakes, frogs, lizards, Fruits both wild and
cultivated are eaten. Moreover, they are notorious to feed on the fruits of
Trichosanthes tricuspidata which are toxic to mammals. They also hunt
systematically for birds’ nests and are highly destructive to the eggs and
young of the smaller species. The bird has also been known to take flesh from
recently killed carcasses. Normally the breeding season starts in March till
June. The nest is built in trees and bushes and is habitually a shallow
platform. The nest consist usually 3 to 5 eggs laid. The inner cup is lined
with rootlets and small twigs. It is placed at about 5 to 8 meters above the
ground in isolated or prominent tree or in bush. Both sexes share in building,
incubation and care of the young.The range of this bird is quite large,
covering all of mainland India up to the Himalayas, Pakistan and southeasterly
in a broad band into Bangladesh, Burma Laos, and Thailand in open forest
consisting of scrub, plantations and gardens.
The bird is widespread
populations show variations and numerous subspecies are recognized. The
nominate subspecies is found in the northeastern part of peninsular India south
to Hyderabad. The desert form is paler and called pallida, vernayi of the
Eastern Ghats is brighter while parvula of the Western Ghats is smaller in
size. The form in Pakistan and Afghanistan is bristoli while the form in
southern Thailand is saturatior. E C Stuart Baker describes sclateri from the
upper Chindwin to the Chin Hills and kinneari from souther Myanmar and
northwest Thailand. The bird is an agile forager, clinging and clambering
through the branches and sometimes joining mixed hunting parties along with
species such as drongos and babblers.
The Rufous Treepie has been
observed feeding on ecto-parasites of wild deer. Like many other corvids they
are recognized to cache food. They have been considered to be helpful to palm
cultivation in southern India due to their foraging on the grubs of the
destructive weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. The Rufous treepie is not the
most remarkable, the grandest or the most ornate. But it is a lovely and
confident little bird. The Rufous Treepie is usually common and widespread in
its range except in Vietnam where it is more local and uncommon. So many thanks
to the large quantity of insects that it consumes, hence it is not considered a
pest in spite of some damage caused to orchards and cereal crops. The species
is not at present threatened.
